Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers: A History of the Bathroom

A fascinating, lively account of toilets, tubs, and sanitation systems with intriguingly catchy chapter titles from "Splish, Splash, the First Bath," "The Queen's Toilet," "Ugh, Gross!" to "Bathrooms Beyond Belief." This updated ebook edition underscores the need to raise global awareness that 2.6 billion people live without proper and sustainable sanitation. More

A fascinating, lively account of toilets, tubs, and sanitation systems with intriguingly catchy chapter titles from "Splish, Splash, the First Bath," "The Queen's Toilet," "Ugh, Gross!" to "Bathrooms Beyond Belief." Award-winning author, Penny Colman traces the fascinating history of the bathroom, starting thousands of years ago on the Orkney Islands of Scotland where hollowed-out slabs of stone with a crude drain served as the first indoor bathroom, to the ancient Egyptian city of Tel el Amarna where in 1370 B.C. there were limestone toilet seats and stone bathtubs; to the years when people in western Europe didn't pay any attention to sewage disposal or bathing; to the International Space Station where a water regeneration system distills, filters, ionizes and oxidizes wastewater, including urine, into freshwater for drinking. A list of "Ten Facts About Toilets, Bathtubs, Sinks, and Sewers" includes the fact that Albert Einstein once said that if he had it to do all over again, he would become a plumber. The book includes an extensive bibliography and webliography.

Penny Colman writes about illustrious and fascinating women and a wide range of significant and intriguing topics in her award-winning books for all ages. Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1944, she grew up in North Warren, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of a state mental hospital, where her father was a psychiatrist. In 1960, she joined a group of teenagers and rode her bicycle (plus took a few train rides) across the U.S. In 1964 she dropped out of college, worked in a frozen food factory in Sweden and hitchhiked throughout Europe, including to Turkey and Greece. Between 1965-1970, she graduated from college and graduate school, got married, and had three very close-in-age children. In 1987, as her children were graduating from high school, Penny Colman embarked on a freelance writing career and has been going full steam ever since. A popular speaker and educator, she has spoken in a variety of venues and taught at universities and colleges, including Teachers College, Columbia University and New York University.